I think every Canadian kid has read Owls in the Family by
Farley Mowat at least once since it was first published in 1961. It is the
hilarious story of Billy who finds two abandoned great horn owlets in the barn
on his family’s Saskatchewan farm. Although it is a children’s novel, adult
will get a chuckle out of it, too, and you should put it on your list of books
to read if you haven’t already.
Last night I watched a program about great horned owls on
CBC’s The Nature of Things. I have always admired owls, and now I have a greater
respect for them. Their ability to maneuver through branches and tight spaces
is nothing short of spectacular, and their individuality comes through in their
various calls and clucks.
In the woods at the end of our subdivision at least one great
horned owl lives. We hear them often in the summertime, and occasionally one
will perch on a lamppost at dusk this time of year. Too far away and too dark
for a photograph I just watch this majestic bird and marvel at its wingspan and
silent flight when it takes off. However,
this summer I spotted a great grey owl on a fence post in the middle of the day
and was able to capture him. Whether he is a resident or was just travelling
through remains to be seen.
I do have pictures of great horned owls, though. While on a
spring road trip in southern Alberta in 2009 we spotted one on a nest in a tree
right along the road. And when mama flew to the next tree over three little
fuzzy heads peeked out of the nest. Even though I used my zoom lens to take
these photographs I will probably never get that close to Alberta’s provincial
bird again and feel very fortunate to have had this encounter.
On our Ontario vacation in the fall last year we visited the
Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre in Midland. In their raptor rehabilitation area we
met Alice, a six-year-old tawny owl. Even though tawny owls are not found in
the wild in North America she is a sweet little ambassador for the centre. Her
handler allowed us to touch her, and her feathers were so soft.
Looking for quotations about owls this one came up time and
again and was attributed to various people, from an African proverb (without
the last sentence) to Charles M. Schulz. Who knows who said it first? The
wisdom remains:
A wise old owl sat on an oak. The more he saw the less he
spoke. The less he spoke the more he heard. Why can’t we all be like that bird?
